As a former teacher, I witnessed first-hand the effects sugary drinks have on children.

Students purchased 20 oz. bottles of soda during their lunch period and I always cringed at teaching the classes after lunch. Invariably, these classes contained more disruptions and behavioral problems.

Children have access to alarming amounts of sugar these days. Sugar sweetened beverages are the single largest category of caloric intake in children, surpassing milk in the late 1990s.

After observing how poor nutrition in general — and sugar consumption in particular — was affecting students' health and behavior, I went to law school and commenced earning an advanced degree in food and agriculture law in order to effect more positive change. With the numbers of child attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnoses, diabetes, and obesity rates soaring, imminent action is needed to avert an already booming health crisis.

With a 2-cent per ounce tax on sugary drinks, the potential annual tax revenue for Vermont in 2014 would have been $34.856 million. This money could be reinvested in our children, perhaps by funding after-school sports and healthy snack programs, or by teaching whole foods cooking classes to children and their parents.

Studies suggest that a 10 percent price increase for drinks through taxation would decrease consumption by about 8-10 percent. This is an important first step in confronting our health challenges and the time to act is now.

CARRIE A. SCRUFARI

South Royalton

Scrufari is an LLM Fellow at the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law School.